Queen Elizabeth and U.S. Presidents

Queen Elizabeth II and U.S. Presidents Past and Present

Queen Elizabeth, who has reigned over England longer than President Obama has been alive, has met with 12 U.S. presidents. Obama was the most recent; he and the first lady made a two-day state visit to Buckingham Palace in April 2009. Here the first couple greets the queen for a dinner at the Winfield House in London, May 25, 2011.

Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth II and U.S. Presidents Past and Present

Queen Elizabeth, who has reigned over England longer than President Obama has been alive, has met with 12 U.S. presidents. Obama was the most recent; he and the first lady made a two-day state visit to Buckingham Palace in April 2009. Here the first couple greets the queen for a dinner at the Winfield House in London, May 25, 2011.

Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images

Queen Elizabeth II and U.S. Presidents Past and Present

George W. Bush pulled out all the stops when he hosted Queen Elizabeth at the White House in 2007. The state dinner was the only white-tie event that Bush, a president famous for his Texas drawl and informal style, held at the White House. Here Bush and the queen walk with Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, through St George's Hall at Windsor Castle in England, June 15, 2008.

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Queen Elizabeth II and U.S. Presidents Past and Present

While former President Bill Clinton visited Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace three times over his two terms, the Queen never came across the pond to the White House. Clinton was at the palace when the Supreme Court ruled that George W. Bush won the 2000 election and would thus be his successor. Here the first family speaks with the queen at Buckingham Palace, Dec. 14, 2000 in London.

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Queen Elizabeth II and U.S. Presidents Past and Present

When George H.W. Bush welcomed the queen to the White House in 1991, it was not the president but his son who stole the show. George W. Bush is said to have told the queen he was the "black sheep" of his family, then asked, "Who's yours?" In this photo from May 14, 1991 Queen Elizabeth II looks on as President George H.W. Bush tosses a horseshoe in Washington.

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Queen Elizabeth II and U.S. Presidents Past and Present

Queen Elizabeth II presents President Ronald Reagan with an honorary knighthood, June 14, 1989, at Buckingham Palace in London. Reagan was the first U.S. President in more than 35 years to be knighted by the Queen of England. Only Republican presidents have received this honor. Looking on are Prince Phillip and first lady Nancy Reagan.

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Queen Elizabeth II and U.S. Presidents Past and Present

When President Jimmy Carter met Queen Elizabeth II in London's Buckingham Palace on May 1, 1977 he declined to bow and instead went for a kiss. The queen was said to have held a grudge against Carter over the hello smooch for years.

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Queen Elizabeth II and U.S. Presidents Past and Present

President Gerald Ford not only met Queen Elizabeth but took her for a spin around the dance floor when she visited the White House in 1976. Just as the two hit the dance floor, as shown here, the Marine band struck up "The Lady is a Tramp." The dance came during a state dinner honoring the queen and Prince Philip at the White House, July 17, 1976, in Washington.

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Queen Elizabeth II and U.S. Presidents Past and Present

Queen Elizabeth II and British Prime Minister Edward Heath join President Richard Nixon and first lady Patricia at Chequers, Heath's official country residence, Oct. 3, 1970. President Nixon made at least two trips to Britain during his presidency. Nixon's predecessor, Lyndon Johnson, was the only sitting U.S. president the queen did not meet during her 60-year reign.

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Queen Elizabeth II and U.S. Presidents Past and Present

President John F. Kennedy and first lady Jacqueline Kennedy take a tour of Buckingham Palace hosted by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, June 5, 1961, in London. After Kennedy's assassination, the queen dedicated a memorial to him in the English countryside.

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Queen Elizabeth II and U.S. Presidents Past and Present

Queen Elizabeth met former President Herbert Hoover in 1957, more than 20 years after he left the White House. She joined Hoover, left, and New York Mayor Robert Wagner at a luncheon in the Waldorf-Astoria hotel, New York, Oct. 21, 1957. The Mayor's luncheon was held in honor of the Queen after she was given a ticker tape parade up lower Broadway and an official city welcome at city hall.

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Queen Elizabeth II and U.S. Presidents Past and Present

President Dwight D. Eisenhower was the first sitting U.S. president to host Queen Elizabeth. Here she stands with Eisenhower at the White House State banquet he held in her honor on Oct. 20, 1957, in Washington. Eisenhower is wearing the British Order of Merit awarded him by King George VI after World War II.

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Queen Elizabeth II and U.S. Presidents Past and Present

President Harry S. Truman met then-princess Elizabeth less than a year before she assumed the throne. Truman and Princess Elizabeth are shown in their motorcade following a reception ceremony at Washington National Airport Oct. 31, 1951. Truman welcomed Elizabeth and her husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, with the hope that "when you leave you will like us even better than when you came."